24/7 News Coverage
April 24, 2025
SUPERPOWERS
Chinese Catholics mourn Pope Francis, mull Church's future



Baoding, China (AFP) April 24, 2025
In a small church tucked into a side street in northern China's Hebei province, a group of around 10 people gathered for their weekly meeting, the day after Pope Francis died aged 88. The Vatican on Monday announced the death of the Argentine pontiff, who inspired devotion but riled traditionalists during his 12-year tenure. In 1951, newly communist China severed ties with the Holy See, forcing Catholics to choose between membership in the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association or non- ... read more

THE STANS
India and Pakistan: A history of division and war
New Delhi (AFP) April 24, 2025
Nuclear-armed arch-rivals India and Pakistan have long accused each other of backing forces to destabilise them, especially in the contested Himalayan region of Kashmir that each controls parts of. ... more
WAR REPORT
Cannes film festival says to 'honour' slain Gaza photojournalist
Paris (AFP) April 23, 2025
The Cannes film festival said Wednesday that the screening of a documentary about Gaza photojournalist Fatima Hassouna at the event next month would honour her work after the "horror" of her death in an Israeli air strike last week. ... more
EARTH OBSERVATION
Trump admin cuts 'mean more dirty air': advocacy group
Washington (AFP) April 23, 2025
The Trump administration's planned drastic cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "mean more dirty air" across the United States, an advocacy group warned Wednesday. ... more
FROTH AND BUBBLE
Morocco volunteers on Sahara clean-up mission
M'Hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco (AFP) April 24, 2025
It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that does not mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment - the rubbish humanity discards. ... more
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SHAKE AND BLOW
Philippine typhoon victims remember day Pope Francis brought hope
Tacloban, Philippines (AFP) April 24, 2025
Fourteen months after the deadliest storm in Philippine history, Pope Francis stood on a rain-swept stage to deliver a message of hope to the battered town of Tacloban. ... more
SHAKE AND BLOW
Powerful 6.2-magnitude quake hits off Istanbul coast
Istanbul (AFP) April 23, 2025
Hours after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook Turkey's biggest city, sending panicked residents racing onto the streets, Istanbul remained on edge late Wednesday as a string of aftershocks continued to rattle nerves. ... more
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Thailand to test disaster alerts after quake criticism
Bangkok (AFP) April 23, 2025
Thailand will conduct tests of a cellphone disaster alert system, senior officials said on Wednesday, after criticism that no alarm was sent after last month's deadly Myanmar earthquake caused damage in Bangkok. ... more
FARM NEWS
Indonesia food plan risks 'world's largest' deforestation
Jakarta (AFP) April 22, 2025
An Indonesian soldier gives a thumbs up as he crosses a rice field on a combine harvester in remote Papua, where a government food security mega-project has raised fears of mass deforestation. ... more

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TECHNOLOGY NEWS


ICE WORLD
Melting glaciers at the end of the Ice Age may have sped up continental drift, fueled volcanic eruptions
Boulder CO (SPX) Apr 24, 2025
Around 10,000 years ago as the last Ice Age drew to a close, the drifting of the continent of North America, and spreading in the Atlantic Ocean, may have temporarily sped up-with a little help from ... more
WOOD PILE
Tentative tree planting 'decades overdue' in sweltering Athens
Athens (AFP) April 22, 2025
On a cloudy spring morning in one of Athens' most densely inhabited districts, thousands of fresh saplings dotting a small hilltop park mark a fledgling effort to tackle crippling heat that critics say is long overdue. ... more
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Early holiday, more fans: Philippines schools adapt to climate change
Manila (AFP) April 22, 2025
Kindergarten teacher Lolita Akim fires up five standing fans with three more at the ready as she fights to hold the attention of her pint-sized pupils in Manila's soaring heat. ... more
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
60,000 Myanmar students must retake exams burned in quake blaze
Yangon (AFP) April 22, 2025
More than 60,000 Myanmar students must retake university entrance exams after their answer papers were incinerated in a blaze caused by last month's earthquake, state media said Tuesday. ... more
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Climate watchers fret over Trump's cut to sciences
San Diego (AFP) April 23, 2025
In his California laboratory, Ralph Keeling examines a graph created from data his father began collecting that keeps a record of the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. ... more
SPACE TRAVEL
Scientists sound alarm as Trump reshapes US research landscape
Washington (AFP) April 23, 2025
From cancer cures to climate change, President Donald Trump's administration has upended the American research landscape, threatening the United States' standing as a global science leader and sowing fear over jobs and funding. ... more
TECHNOLOGY NEWS


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SPACE TRAVEL
Bridging Earth and space, and art and science, with global voices
Boston MA (SPX) Apr 16, 2025
On board Intuitive Machines' Athena spacecraft, which made a moon landing on March 6, were cutting-edge MIT payloads: a depth-mapping camera and a mini-rover called "AstroAnt." Also on that craft we ... more
SUPERPOWERS
'The voice of god': Filipinos wrestle with death of Pope Francis
Manila (AFP) April 21, 2025
Church bells rang out across the Philippines early Monday evening as Asia's bastion of Catholicism mourned the death of Pope Francis. ... more
AEROSPACE
NASA balloon embarks on multi-month stratospheric flight from New Zealand
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 22, 2025
NASA's super pressure balloon has successfully achieved float altitude following its launch from Wanaka Airport in New Zealand at 10:44 a.m. NZST on April 17 (6:44 p.m. EDT, April 16). Designed to n ... more
ICE WORLD
Melting snow and ice reinforce cloud-driven cooling slowing Arctic thaw
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Apr 23, 2025
New findings from Peking University researchers reveal that melting snow and ice may unexpectedly contribute to moderating further Arctic warming by enhancing the cooling effect of clouds. This disc ... more
ABOUT US
Sunscreen and shelter strategies may have shielded early humans from solar radiation
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Apr 22, 2025
Ancient Homo sapiens likely gained a survival edge during a magnetic upheaval 41,000 years ago by adopting innovative methods of sun protection, including tailored clothing, cave habitation, and the ... more
CLIMATE SCIENCE
Morocco volunteers on Sahara clean-up mission
M'Hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco (AFP) April 22, 2025
It may be the gateway to the vast Sahara desert, but that doesn't mean it's free of that modern scourge of the environment - the rubbish humanity discards. ... more
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Second Fukushima debris removal trial complete
Tokyo (AFP) April 23, 2025
A tricky operation to remove a second sample of radioactive debris from inside Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant has been completed, the site operator said Wednesday. ... more
WHITE OUT
Himalayan snow at 23-year low, threatening 2 billion people: report
Islamabad (AFP) April 21, 2025
Snowfall in Asia's Hindu Kush-Himalayan mountain range has reached a 23-year low, threatening nearly two billion people dependent on snowmelt for water, scientists warned in a report on Monday. ... more
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Gazans resort to turtle meat in hunt for food
Khan Yunis, Palestinian Territories (AFP) April 19, 2025
With food scarce in the besieged and war-battered Gaza Strip, some desperate families have turned to eating sea turtles as a rare source of protein. ... more
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Myanmar extends earthquake truce as rebels prepare to hand key city back to junta
Yangon (AFP) April 22, 2025
Myanmar's junta on Tuesday prolonged a ceasefire declared after last month's devastating earthquake to April 30, after aid groups and international mediators called for an extension to ease relief efforts. ... more
AFRICA NEWS
Burkina junta says foiled plot to sow 'total chaos'
Abidjan (AFP) April 22, 2025
Burkina Faso's military junta claimed Monday to have foiled a "major plot in the making" aimed at "sowing total chaos", saying it believed the masterminds were in neighbouring Ivory Coast. ... more
AFRICA NEWS
Uganda army chief in talks with DR Congo militia
Kampala (AFP) April 22, 2025
Uganda's army chief met Tuesday near Kampala with leaders of a militia from northeastern DR Congo following deadly clashes last month, the military said. ... more
TECHNOLOGY NEWS


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FLORA AND FAUNA
Landmark Nepal survey estimates nearly 400 elusive snow leopards
Kathmandu (AFP) April 22, 2025
Nepal's first nationwide survey of the threatened snow leopard estimated nearly 400 of the elusive big cats in the Himalayan nation, wildlife officials said Tuesday. ... more
ABOUT US
'Toxic beauty': Rise of 'looksmaxxing' influencers
Washington (AFP) April 23, 2025
Hankering for a chiseled jawline, a male TikTok influencer strikes his cheekbones with a hammer - highlighting the rise of "looksmaxxing," an online trend pushing unproven and sometimes dangerous techniques to boost sexual appeal. ... more
WATER WORLD
Coral reefs pushed to brink as bleaching crisis worsens
Paris (AFP) April 23, 2025
An unprecedented coral bleaching episode has spread to 84 percent of the world's reefs in an unfolding human-caused crisis that could kill off swathes of the essential ecosystems, scientists warned Wednesday. ... more
WATER WORLD
Coral reefs pushed to brink as bleaching crisis worsens
Paris (AFP) April 23, 2025
An unprecedented coral bleaching episode has spread to 84 percent of the world's reefs in an unfolding human-caused crisis that could kill off swathes of the essential ecosystems, scientists warned Wednesday. ... more
FARM NEWS
Saudi 'city of roses' offers fragrant reminder of desert's beauty
Taif, Saudi Arabia (AFP) April 23, 2025
After decades spent pruning thorny bushes and working arduous harvests, Khalaf Allah al-Talhi has perfected the art of capturing the fragrant aroma of the desert rose in a bottle. ... more
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